iv. urn by Arisa Moreland-Woods

The phone got to its second ring before it was ended. On the last two calls, it just rang and rang until it timed out and went to voicemail. The answering machine was full, so there was no use in trying to leave a message. He just didn’t want to talk.

“Waiting”
Denied fatherhood
Warm embrace of motherhood
Excite of new life
“Twin”
Her tiny fingers
Encircled mine and I cried
A reason to live
“Purpose”
I watched her first steps
Alone in our apartment
On a Friday night

“Shots rang out on early Saturday morning around one a.am. when an altercation between two nightclub patrons escalated into violence. Three were injured, including the shooter, and one is in critical condition. More word on the incident at the top of the hour. Back to Todd at the news desk.”

Arisa, also known as Yung Profesora, is a 19-year-old from Indianapolis, Indiana, attending Butler University. She has self-published two novels, and she is currently working on a third titled, Reclaiming Ghetto. This excerpt is a haibun inspired by her mother. You can find her on tumblr, more of her writing on wattpad, and her first two books, The South Belly Chronicles, on Createspace. For more on haibun and other Japanese poetry forms, you can click here.

Illustration by Alvalia Pemberton. You can find her on instagram and her website.